USAF Combat Camera 1941–1991: The Brave Ones Shoot Bullets, the Crazy Ones Shoot Film (Technology@War)

By Kevin Wright

'The brave ones shoot bullets, the crazy ones shoot film' has been used to describe the work of the US Air Force's Combat Camera specialists. Since 1941, often on the frontline, these cinematographers and photographers have performed their frequently hazardous work.

USAF Combat Cameramen and later women have participated in every major US military operation and deployment worldwide. Whilst some of their wartime productions like the original Memphis Belle and The Last Bomb, rightly gained wide public acclaim, the vast majority of their work, often classified, was for the Pentagon's eyes only. Their main role was to keep senior military commanders and decision-makers, informed about USAF operations and to record the challenges faced by US armed forces on the ground.

Combat Camera charts those activities from their origins in Hollywood, producing military training films, through wartime movies, bomber operations over Europe and Japan, the liberation of France, the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama and the 1991 Gulf War.

These events are explored mainly through personal accounts from the combat cameramen and women themselves. From acts of individual heroism, through organisational change, new equipment and their often ringside seats at historic events, Combat Camera captures the work of these remarkable men and women and has been produced with cooperation of the membership of the USAF Combat Camera Association.

This volume is profusely illustrated with original photographs and includes unique links to original motion footage shot by the USAF Combat Cameramen, in addition to the @War series signature colour artworks.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1806720574
• ISBN13: 9781806720576
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Helion and Company
• Length: 72 Pages